The Summer After Sirius
by moony1138
Summary: Set during the summer after 5th year, Harry thinks life can't possibly get any worse... It does.
1. Harry's Tragic Day

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 1: Harry's Tragic Day

The summer after fifth year had so far been better than most because of the Dursleys actually not making life a living hell for Harry. This was due entirely to Moody's warning not to mistreat him this summer or they would have to answer to him. It would have been the best summer ever except for one thing; Sirius was dead.

He had died saving Harry, when Harry himself had been on a mission to save him. On the outside Harry presented a somewhat happy face so as to not make anyone worry about him, but the irony of it all was tearing him up on the inside. Since he had gotten back from school two weeks ago, Harry had only left his room to use the loo and to shower. As in the summer before his second year, his Aunt Petunia brought him his meals and gave them to him through his little food door.

His grief was even made even greater when he saw the cover of the Daily Prophet one day…

****

**MASS BREAKOUT OF CONVICTED DEATH EATERS**

_Just today there was a massive breakout of the convicted Death Eaters who were only just put there mere weeks ago, after their attempted break-in at the Ministry of Magic…_

Disgusted, he wouldn't even finish reading it.

Malfoy would no doubt be gloating about that when school started again. He wasn't even really sure he wanted to go back and deal with it all this year since so much had happened.

So far it had been a repeat of last summer with no news from Ron or Hermione about what they were up to or about the Order. In fact, they had only each bothered to write just once.

Harry,

Not much going on. We're all staying at the place we stayed at last summer. (Can't say in case the letter gets intercepted.) Dumbledore isn't sure when you will be able to join us. I know that you're probably beating yourself up over Sirius's death but it's not your fault. He would have done anything for you. On a happier note, I've recently figured out why I don't like anyone going out with Hermione, I'm in love. I've recently asked her out and so far it's been great. Anyway, see ya soon mate.

Ron

Hermione's was slightly better…

Harry,

I hope your really doing well. I'm really sorry about Sirius's death and can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through. Please don't do anything rash and to get yourself expelled again as fudge is still the Minister of Magic and even after admitting that Voldemort is back still tries to run your name through the mud as much as possible. Professor Dumbledore won't say when or if you will be able to join us. You wont believe this but the most amazing thing happened right after I arrived at you know where, Ron asked me out. I could tell he's had a crush on me for a while but never thought that he would ever get the nerve to actually do anything about it. And before you ask, I accepted and we've been pretty happy since. Well hopefully you will be able to come and stay soon.

Love

Hermione

He didn't know why but the fact that Ron and Hermione had finally admitted their feelings for each other filled him with a jealous rage that was slowly eating away at him. It wasn't that he wanted Hermione for himself, but the fact that once again he was left all alone. Once school got started again he knew he would always be in the way because they would want their 'alone time.'

Lately though, he had been thinking of Ginny more and more often. Sometimes he would just wonder what she was up too or how she was tormenting Ron. Until this summer he had never really thought of Ginny in this way. He often wondered if she felt the same way. He understood that she was over her infatuation with him but maybe there was a chance that she still felt something for him.

Then he remembered Dean.

She was going out with Dean now. She had told all of them on the train ride home at the end of term.

Again he felt sorrow.

He often wondered 'Why am I always the one left alone.' First his parents, then Sirius, and now his two best friends; 'Its all that damned prophecy's fault' he mused to himself. That was the other thing that occupied his thoughts day and night. __

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

Either he must die or he must become a murder. Neither sounded like something he would be able to handle. It was because of the prophecy that he had stood up on the roof arguing with himself whether or not he should just end it all right here? It was because of the prophecy that he had nicked a kitchen knife and held it to his wrist every night looking for a reason not to do it.

The thing that usually kept him from actually doing though, was the thought of Remus and how he had also lost so much and was still here. He would have to stay strong for him because he needed a friend in the world. Sirius's death must be hitting him just as hard, as he was the last of his school friends.

On the morning of July 20th Harry woke up just like every other day, prepared to spend it wallowing in self-agony. It was on this day that Harry was staring out of his window watching all of the other happy and _normal_ kids playing in the street without a care in the world. Not knowing that an evil beyond all evil could come down and take it all away with two little words.

Suddenly, of all the people in the world, Dudley started calling Harry by name. This might not seem unusual but ever since Harry had returned from Kings Cross all that he had been referred to by Dudley as, was either "YOU"! Or "That Potter Kid".

"Harry could you come down for a minute?"

'What would Dudley want with me?' Harry thought to himself. Intrigued, he made his way down the stairs to the front door where Dudley was waiting for him. As he approached Dudley he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was beginning to overtake him because he couldn't remember a time when Dudley just wanted to talk.

"I was wondering if you would like to go to the park with me?" Dudley asked.

Harry was shocked. For one thing he had never ever been asked to do something with Dudley because he was usually adamant that Harry not be allowed to be near him.

"Well do you want to go then?"

Regaining his composure he blurted out an affirmative. "Um… sure."

As Dudley began to leave, he couldn't quite put his finger on it but there was something odd about the way that his cousin was acting.

As they made their way down toward the park Harry began to become more relaxed because there was no sign of Dudley's gang of hoodlums that Harry was expecting to jump out at any second.

"So what do you do all year at school?" Dudley asked.

Dumfounded, Harry couldn't even speak. 'Dudley is usually so fearful about my life, why is he suddenly interested?' wondered Harry. Though with Dudley's track record with meeting wizards he couldn't help but understand why he would be so fearful. But this didn't explain why he was suddenly interested in his life.

Dudley then turned into an alley that seemed awfully familiar. Suddenly, Dudley stopped and turned to face Harry with a glint in his eye. "Now you get what's coming to you," He said.

Silently cursing himself for being so trusting he braced for Dudley's gang to jump out and start beating him to a pulp when all of a sudden Harry was startled by the familiar crack of somebody apparating. Only it wasn't just one though, they were suddenly surrounded by three people in masks that Harry recognized as Death Eaters' masks.

"You've done well young muggle," drawled a familiar voice.

"Dudley, how could you do this to me?" Harry asked his cousin.

"Not to worry there Potter," said a voice that Harry recognized as the one belonging to MacNair. "He's under Imperius."

"Not that I don't think that he wouldn't do it anyway" said a voice that had been haunting Harry's dreams since the last week of school.

"You"! Yelled Harry. "I'll kill you."

"Ha" the voice shrieked, "I don't think so boy."

"You see Potter, this time we've got you. There's nowhere to run and no prophecy to keep us from hurting you like last time. Now how did our master put it last time… oh yes," Drawled Malfoy, "kill the spare!"

Harry watched in horror as Bellatrix Lestrange shouted "ADAVA KEDAVRA!" and a bolt of green light went straight at him and Dudley, throwing Dudley to the ground with a blank expression on his face.

It was just like the end of forth year all over again. The death of Cedric was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't believe it; Dudley was dead. While he certainly hated his cousin, he didn't deserve to die at the hands of Death Eaters.

"What's the matter Potter, did you love him too?" Snarled Bellatrix.

They were all laughing at him now, mocking him. Even though he had seriously considered suicide earlier in the summer, something inside of him wouldn't let them have the satisfaction of ending his life.

The Death Eaters were defiantly waiting for Harry to make his move but were unprepared for the sheer ferociousness of it.

Harry suddenly jumped at MacNair and threw him at Malfoy who wasn't expecting that kind of stupidly. He then whirled on Bellatrix and shouted "Petrificus Totalus" catching her off guard she fell to the ground stiff as a board. Turning his attention back to Malfoy and MacNair who were just getting up off the ground he called out "Stupefy" and stunned them.

He then ran out of the alley as fast as he could, all the way to Magnolia Crescent to report to Mrs. Figg, as she would be most likely to be able to contact Professor Dumbledore. When he got there he started pounding on the door.

"Mrs. Figg I've been attacked again, they've killed Dudley" he yelled. Suddenly the door was thrown open and Harry was looking at the old face of the squib, Arabella Figg.

"What are you yelling about, are you trying to alert the whole block to me?"

"Mrs. Figg, Death Eaters are down in the alley that the Dementors attacked me in last summer. They killed Dudley but I stunned them. I don't know how long that will last though."

"What!" Yelled Mrs. Figg. "You get straight back home. I'll contact Dumbledore."

Harry never ran so fast in his life. He ran all the way back to Privet Drive then to the one marked number 4. When he arrived he tore the door open and slammed it shut behind him making sure to deadbolt it.

"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?" yelled a very purple faced Uncle Vernon. "YOU ALMOST RIPPED OUR DOOR OFF." Aunt Petunia was standing right behind him with a look of pure loathing on her face.

Suddenly he was very nervous, he would have to be the one to tell his Aunt and Uncle about their son being dead.

"Um, Uncle Vernon" he started "I um…"

"SPIT IT OUT BOY, I DON"T HAVE ALL RUDDY DAY."

Deciding to just get it over with quickly, he started telling them the story.

"Three dark wizards put a spell on Dudley and they were controlling him. He then took me with him for a walk to the alley we were attacked in last summer. They cornered us and killed Dudley. It was all in an attempt to get to me," he said simply and quietly.

Whatever they were expecting, that wasn't it. Aunt Petunia had sunk into the chair that was right next to her with a horrified expression on her face, but; the look on Uncle Vernon's face was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was beyond rage.

"I always knew you were trouble," said Uncle Vernon very softly. "I feed you, clothe you and put a roof over your head and this is how you repay me. You go and get my son killed by your freak friends."

"But Uncle, they weren't my…" He didn't have time to finish as his Uncle grabbed him by the throat and threw him through his cupboard door.

He didn't even have time to register what had happened when Vernon was on him again. Picking him up by his hair. He punched him in the chest and stomach repeatedly. With every savage blow he could feel his ribs breaking. He was then thrown at the door with such force that when he tried to brace himself, all he heard was the sickening crack of his arm being broken.

Gasping with pain, Harry looked up at his Uncle wondering what on earth he had done to deserve this. Hadn't he been punished in life enough already? At this point Uncle Vernon was pulling out a handgun from a cabinet. 'Surely he wouldn't be sadistic enough to actually shoot me?' he asked himself.

"I'm going to do what I should have done 15 years ago. You've been nothing but a burden on us since you got here and now you go and get my son killed." He said with a mad glint in his eye. "Hope your ready to meet your no-good parents."

With that, he cocked the hammer back, and fired.

He was thrown back into the door so violently it was unreal.

Pain.

Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before suddenly ripped through his body. It was even worse than when Voldemort put the Cruciatus Curse on him at the end of his forth year. It was worse because while the Cruciatus made your mind think you were in pain, this was real. Also since the Cruciatus was all over your body, it all kind of blended together. The pain he was experiencing now was concentrated in one spot making him focus on just that one particular spot.

The bullet made a clean pass right through his left shoulder, separating it. He tried to crawl away but with his right arm broken and his left shoulder separated, it was a useless effort. He ended up sitting on the floor with his back leaned against the wall. He looked up at his Uncle one last time seeing him pull back the hammer again and aiming at him.

'Goodbye Ron and Hermione, I hope you have a safer life with out me now that I won't be there to put you in danger. And to think, after all the times I'm faced the most feared wizard in the world and lived, I get snuffed out by a mere muggle.' Were his last thoughts as there was another defining BOOM! And everything went black.

The boy who lived knew no more.

A/N This is my first fanfic and it was originally planned to be a one-shot to test the waters with my writing. Due to the great reviews though, I've decided to try and make a go of it and carry it through till the start of their sixth year.

Don't forget to review.


	2. Dumbledore's Secret

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 2: Dumbledore's Secret

__

_"Will he make it?" _

_"I'm not sure. He's been through quite an ordeal."_

_"Let me know if his condition changes."_

* * *

Blinding white light met Harry's eyes as he struggled to open them. Realizing he couldn't see anything without his glasses, he started reaching for them. Once he put them on and the room came into focus he saw a mound of long red hair resting on his bed by his legs.

"Ginny?" he croaked.

She slowly raised her head showing that she had tears on her face and let out a gasp of surprise when she saw him awake and looking at her. "Ron, Hermione he's awake!" She yelled out into the hall. Suddenly he was enveloped in a tangle of bushy brown hair and looking into the worried face of his best friend.

"We were so worried when we heard." Sobbed Hermione "We thought we had lost you."

"Yeah mate, you really gave us quite a scare," said Ron.

"Where am I?" Harry asked weakly, His head pounding like mad

"Your in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. You've been here about ten days," said Ron.

Remus who was just coming into the room broke into a huge grin and ran over to Harry enveloping him in a huge bear hug.

All Harry could do was gasp in pain when he did this as his shoulder was throbbing in an extremely painful way.

It was at this moment that Madame Pomfrey came out of her office and at the sight of Lupin practically crushing her patient; she started yelling at the group surrounding his bed.

"Get off him, he needs his rest. The rest of you shouldn't be all over him like that either; he needs to breathe you know." With that, she went back into her office to get the necessary potions for Harry.

Lupin got up hurriedly not wanting to get on her bad side.

"I'm sorry Harry but I was just so happy to see you up. For a while I thought we had lost you. I've never seen Albus so furious in my life as when he brought you back here."

Flashback

Boom!

The whole house shook as the front door to the Dursleys house was blown off its hinges and thrown into Vernon Dursley as Albus Dumbledore stepped menacingly into the home.

Looking around quickly, he found Harry in a heap, lying against the wall unconscious.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked dangerously. "How dare you attack this boy when he has done nothing to deserve it."

After throwing the door off himself Vernon yelled, "I'll kill all you freaks if I have to." With that, he whipped the gun at Dumbledore. But Dumbledore was much faster and called out "Expelliarmus," disarming Vernon and throwing him across the room into a wall.

"How could you let him do that to your own nephew?" he asked Petunia softly.

She looked at him with a look of pure hatred and contempt. "He let those freaks kill my son. I always knew he was jealous of him but I didn't think he would sink as low as to get him killed." She practically yelled at him.

"I know for a fact that Harry wouldn't wish death on anyone, let alone his cousin. Aurors will of course be notified and will come to take Mr. Dursley away for attempted murder. Now I must see to it that this young man doesn't in fact die."

With that he whirled around, picked Harry up and disapperated away to Hogwarts.

End of Flashback

He Suddenly remembered why he was here and all of the guilt of Dudley's death came washing back over him. It was all his fault. If he had only recognized that he wasn't acting like himself Dudley would still be alive.

"It's all my fault." He said softly. "Its all my fault that Dudley's dead."

"Are you crazy? Of course it isn't your fault. How could you have known that your cousin was under Imperius?" Squealed Ginny.

"Even wizards who are trained in Legilimency can't tell whether or not they are telling the truth; because they believe that what they are saying is the truth." Added Hermione.

He didn't believe them though, because he knew better. He should have been suspicious when Dudley started being civil to him. It was completely out of character for him.

"Your Right" he answered not wanting to continue with the argument and noticing for the first time that there was something in Remus's eye that looked like there was something wrong.

"Remus, is there something you're not telling me?" he started asking.

It was at this moment that Professor Dumbledore walked into the room. The twinkle that was usually so prominent in his eyes was gone, replaced with a deep sorrow that was filled with worry and concern.

"Ah, good Harry, your awake." He said gravely.

"Could I perhaps ask everyone to let me have a moment alone with young Harry here?" He asked to everyone. Madame Pomfrey was about to object as she was coming back with a tray full of different potions for Harry to take but Dumbledore silenced her with a wave "As soon as I'm done speaking with him he will be all yours." When they had all left the two of them alone, he spoke again.

"Harry I must ask that you forgive me yet again. For it was I who took it upon myself to place you with your Aunt and Uncle when you were a baby, knowing how much you hated it and how they mistreated you. I believed then as I still do, that because of your relation to your Aunt; that was the best and most safe place for you to be. However, I never thought for a second that your Uncle would do what he did to you ten days ago."

"Professor, what will I do for the rest of the summer?"

"That my dear boy that isn't so simple, at least for this summer anyway. You will finish your treatment at Hogwarts then you will have the option of staying here or going to Grimmald Place to be with your friends. That will all depend on the outcome of the next few days though. You should be ready to leave tomorrow though. Next summer is another matter; because, if you cannot go back to your Aunt's, then you will be forced to stay at Hogwarts, as it will be the safest place for you without her protection."

It was a bittersweet victory for Harry because he had pleaded with Dumbledore for years to be able to spend his summers someplace other than Privet Drive. Now that he didn't have to go back there anymore he would gladly give it up to have Dudley back.

"What's going to happen to my Uncle?"

"That Harry, is a matter for the Wizengamot to decide. Right now he is being held in a holding cell at the Ministry."

"Is there going to be a funeral for my cousin?" Harry asked quietly.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but there has already been one. Your Aunt was most adamant that you not attend, even if you were able. She said that you wouldn't be welcome there."

He couldn't believe it; he wouldn't even be able to pay his respects to Dudley. 'Could life get anymore unfair' he thought to himself.

"What about the Death Eaters that killed Dudley? Did they get away?"

At this, Dumbledore looked both hurt and delighted at the same time.

"I'm also sorry to inform you about this but when I arrived, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy were coherent enough to apparate away when they saw me, Waldon MacNair on the other hand was not and he is currently in the Dungeons here at Hogwarts."

Things never seemed to go his way. Now he wouldn't even be able to get revenge on Bellatrix for Dudley. Life was so unfair.

"One last thing professor, is there something I should know about, because Remus was looking at me like I was dead or something?"

"I'm sorry Harry but that I cannot answer that at this time. I will fill you in on everything that has transpired since your unfortunate accident tomorrow. Now, if you don't have anymore questions, I will leave you in Madame Pomfrey's capable hands before she has my hide." He said with a smile.

With that, Professor Dumbledore strode out of the room and Harry was left alone with Madame Pomfrey.

"So will I make it?" he asked jokingly, not knowing whether or not he really wanted to know how bad it was.

"I've patched you up and mended your broken bones, but where you were shot; along with your shoulder being separated, there has been a lot of tissue damage that I won't be able to do anything for, it will just have to heal on its own. I'm not even one hundred percent sure that it will ever be quite the same again."

Harry looked at her horrorstruck.

"But there's always hope." She added. "You'll have to walk around with a sling for at least a week."

With that, she left him with a couple of potions to help with the swelling and the pain. Telling him to take them before he went to sleep and that she would be back later.

At this time everybody came piling back into the room, telling him all that had been happening in the Wizarding world while he was at his Aunt and Uncle's house and while he had been unconscious.

He barely listened though; he just kept brooding over the fact that Dudley was dead because of him. How everything always seemed to happen to him and how everybody would be better off if he weren't around.

After Professor Dumbledore finally led everybody out he started thinking about what Madame Pomfrey said about how his shoulder might never be the same again. 'What will this do to my Quidditch career at school?' He wondered. At that thought he let out a hollow laugh, "That's even if I could play Quidditch" he said to himself. Because in his fifth year, he, along with Fred and George Weasley were all given life long bans from ever playing again for fighting with Malfoy, and as far as he knew, it was still in effect.

Madame Pomfrey came bustling back into the room a little later to check whether or not he had taken the potions and to give him a draught of Dreamless Sleep potion.

He thanked her for it knowing that he was bound to have nightmares of either Cedric, Sirius, or Dudley without it.

After taking it, he settled in for his first good nights sleep in a long time when suddenly he overheard two voices coming from the hallway.

"How could Fudge do this to him, we all know he's innocent?"

"Yes I can sympathize with you, but you have to understand that Cornelius feels that he has been made a fool of by Harry because he has been telling the truth about Voldemort all through last year, while he himself has denied it. And now that Voldemort has shown himself to the world and made Cornelius look like a fool, he will stop at nothing to make sure Harry is discredited."

"He always was more a politician than a man of the people."

"Yes, there is no denying that. There will be a story all about it in the Daily Prophet tomorrow."

"So when do you plan on telling Harry about this? You surely won't wait for him to read it in the paper will you?"

"I didn't want to spoil anyone's happiness today with his waking up. It will have to wait until tomorrow morning. I'm sure they will come for him then and I plan on making sure that he isn't surprised when he is taken away."

"Do the kids know anything about this?"

"No. I thought it would be best if they weren't all worried about it today, for Harry's sake."

"You don't think that Fudge will actually have enough evidence to go through with it do you?"

"I sincerely hope not. Though I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. In any case, I'm going to retire for the night."

"I suppose I should myself, Goodnight Albus."

"Goodnight Remus."

With that, their shadows went their separate ways leaving an utterly perplexed Harry in their wake. 'What could they possibly be talking about? What could that idiot Fudge be doing now, that has Remus so worried?'

These were his last thoughts as he drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.

A/N Sorry about leaving you with another cliffhanger but that's the way it had to be. Plus it might just keep you coming back. I'll try in the future to not make every chapter one though.

Oh, and don't forget to review because I love your suggestions.


	3. Revelations

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 3: Revelations

Waking up, the first thing he noticed besides that he still couldn't see anything without his glasses was that Ginny was curled up into a ball in the bed next to him.

'She looks so beautiful lying there' he thought to himself as he reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

When he heard footsteps he looked over to the door and could see Hermione standing there with a soft smile on her lips.

"What's going on? How come you're not in your dorm?" he asked sleepily.

"I was just watching you two sleep. You looked so peaceful together." She replied with a smile on her face.

"You mean she spent the whole night here?"

"Actually, she really hasn't left your side since we heard what happened to you. When Professor Lupin told us you were shot by your Uncle, she kinda fell backwards into a chair and looked like she had lost the most important person in the world. She's been here ever since always holding your hand and talking to you. All in the hope that you would come back to her."

This was certainly a new revelation to Harry as he was under the impression that she was over her little infatuation with him and had a boyfriend. 'Could it be that Ginny was in love with me?' He thought to himself.

"Doesn't Ginny have a boyfriend?" he asked Hermione. "Wasn't she with Dean?"

"Honestly Harry, sometimes you can be as thick as Ron" she said very pointedly. "Couldn't you tell she said that only to get a rise out of him? She's always had a crush on you, but after we all went to the Ministry at the end of term, she realized she was actually in love with you."

Suddenly he felt like he was on top of the world. This certainly raised a lot of questions though. Could it possibly be true? Did she really harbor feelings for him? These were definitely questions to which he needed answers.

"Really?" he asked, kind of excited at the prospect of that being a possibility.

"Ya, She saw that it wasn't just a crush anymore when you showed that you were so willing to go to the aid of someone in danger. Even when the danger was even greater for you and there was the possibility that you might not come back."

He couldn't believe it. He had been having thoughts of Ginny all summer and now he knew that she felt the same way about him, he just wanted to hop out of bed an let her know that he felt the same way for her but Madame Pomfrey came into the room at that moment and saw Ginny lying there and went ballistic.

"Miss Weasley!" she screeched.

Surprised, Ginny woke with a start and promptly fell off the bed and landing on the floor with a loud thud. Rubbing her neck she looked around sleepily trying to get her bearings when she was yelled at again.

"I've told you repeatedly that you weren't to be sneaking in here after hours. What am I going to have to do to keep you out of here?"

When Ginny didn't answer right away Madame Pomfrey told her not to let it happen again and that she should go and get some breakfast.

As she was walking out of the room she turned to Harry and with a smile said "Be right back. Oh, and Happy Birthday!"

Was it really his birthday he wondered? He had lost all track of time since going into the coma that he forgot all about his birthday.

"Hermione, what day is this?" he asked.

"Oh I forgot, July 31" she replied happily. "Happy Birthday Harry."

At this point Ron came bounding in with a big grin on his face, carrying a present in his arms.

"Happy Birthday mate. We weren't sure if you would be out of the coma yet but we got your gifts anyway just in case."

"Ron. I… I don't know what to say" He exclaimed happily.

"You could say thank you" Ron replied cheekily.

Opening up the package revealed an extra large box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and about a dozen Chocolate Frogs.

"Thank you Ron"

"No problem mate, I know there're your favorite"

"You'll get your presents form Ginny and I at the party we have planned for you later tonight." Said Hermione as Professor Dumbledore strode into the room with a grim but determined look on his face.

"Harry there is something that needs to be said about your cousin's death."

"What is it Professor?" He asked blankly while popping one of the beans into his mouth.

"Cornelius Fudge is a bitter man right now and is looking for any way to discredit you for proving him wrong about Voldemort coming back. So in an attempt to get you discredited, he has found a way for you to be charged with murder."

No, this had to be a joke. There was no way that he could be charged with murder. He had never killed anybody in his life. But whose murder was he supposedly being charged with?

"Who?" He asked simply.

Suddenly there was a rapping at the window. Hermione got up to get the paper from the owl and sat down to read it. Harry was looking back to the door when Hermione let out a gasp of surprise.

"I don't believe it." Was all she said with a shocked expression on her face. With that, the paper was handed over to Harry.

****

**Boy Who Lived Charged With Murder!**

By Special Correspondent: Rita Skeeter

_Harry Potter, famous for his defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named 15 years ago and last year who claimed to witness his rebirth was formally charged with the murder of his muggle cousin earlier today at the Ministry of Magic. It was ten days ago that Mr. Potter was shot by his Uncle, one Vernon Dursley of Little Whinging, Surrey who is currently being held in a holding cell at the Ministry of Magic. It is now believed that those actions were in self-defense after his son was killed. The Ministry has also recently discovered several witnesses to the before mentioned crime. "Yes it was defiantly him, I've never seen such an awful thing in my life as that." said Gloria Jackson a muggle who witnessed the crime and later had her memory altered. Another witness described it like this, "they were arguing in an alleyway, then all of a sudden, the messy haired boy whipped out a stick and in a flash of green light, the larger boy was dead. This goes along with what has become known about Potter in the last few years. Three years ago he, along with fellow student Hermione Granger, were befuddled by the escaped murderer Sirius Black. They were made to think that he was innocent of his crimes 15 years ago. A little over a year ago he was illegally entered in the Triwizard Tournament as a forth champion, out of three competing schools. In the tournament's final challenge, he disappeared along with fellow student Cedric Diggory. He then reappeared half an hour later clinging to the dead body of Mr. Diggory claiming to have seen the Dark Lord reborn. Finally last year he was almost expelled form_ _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for performing the Patronous Charm in front of a muggle, his cousin. He was only let off due to the intervention of Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster at Hogwarts and chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. In any case, the truth about Mr. Potter will be known soon enough._

At this moment, Cornelius Fudge strode into the room looking like Christmas had come early for him, carrying a rolled up piece of parchment with a flank of Aurors around him and two Dementors.

Harry suddenly felt his insides freeze up as the dementor's rattling breath sucked all the warmth from the room. He could faintly hear the voice of his Mum pleading with Voldemort…

_"Not Harry, not Harry please not Harry!"_

_"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside now…."_

_"Not Harry, please no, take me instead. _

"Get those things out of my Hospital Ward this instant." Screeched Madame Pomfrey.

"They are here for the protection of the Minister of Magic." Answered one of the Aurors rudely.

"The Minister should be well protected by the four of you." Said Dumbledore fiercely. "Unless you are incapable of handling an unarmed 16 year old."

Looking offended, the Auror suddenly changed his opinion of the situation.

"Fine, they will remain outside." He grumbled. With that, they glided out of the room.

"Lets get this over with shall we Dumbledore." Fudge said brightly, scanning the room and finally setting his eyes on Harry.

"Ah, your awake. This will make things easier." He said happily while un-rolling the parchment, which he started to read from.

"Harry James Potter, you are hereby ordered by the Minister of Magic to be escorted to the Ministry in order for you to be arraigned and sent off to Azkaban prison, where you are to spend the rest of your life for the use of an Unforgivable Curse in the murder of your cousin, Dudley Dursley. If you resist in any way, authorization will be given to the Aurors present to stun you and to have the Dementor's kiss performed. Do you understand everything that I've just read to you?"

Azkaban. It couldn't be.

Hagrid had spent a couple of months there in his second year and had come back saying it was the worst place he had ever been. It had also been the place that had made his Godfather suffer for 12 years. Robbing him of his once good looks and making him suffer horribly. This had to be a cruel joke. There was no way that he was being blamed for Dudley's death. Hadn't he suffered enough already? He knew that with the bad memories he harbored, he would surely die in there. He wouldn't be able to last very long replaying the deaths of his parents, Cedric, Sirius or Dudley over and over in his mind.

"Cornelius, you cannot take this boy to Azkaban without a proper trial." Exclaimed Dumbledore.

"You know the law Dumbledore, if there are enough witnesses to the crime than there is no need for a trial."

"But only if the Chief Warlock doesn't demand such a trial." He answered back smoothly. "I believe that with me being that person, there will be a trial so as to make sure that a grave mistake isn't made in sending this boy to Azkaban. There is too much circumstantial evidence to just throw him away and forget about him. He will have a full hearing and will be subject to its findings as soon as it can convene."

Fudge looked like he was about to explode with fury the way his face was turning color from a red to a deep purple, not unlike his Uncle Vernon.

"Fine" he snapped harshly. "The boy will get a hearing. But he still must come back to the Ministry to await his trial. I won't be having him decide to just run away."

"Very well Cornelius." Dumbledore said sadly turning to Harry.

"I'm very sorry Harry but I'm afraid that you will have to go with the Minister and await your trial at the Ministry in the holding cell."

For the first time in his life Harry was scared. He would have to go and be at the mercy of someone who could do anything to Harry and get away with it. Dumbledore wouldn't be able to help him by scaring Fudge like he could with the Dursleys. He was truly on his own.

Dumbledore must have seen the fear on his face because he then looked at Fudge and said very pointedly.

"This boy is not to be mistreated Cornelius. He has the same rights as anybody else. Remember, innocent until proven guilty, is the law."

"Don't quote the law to me Dumbledore, I am the Minister of Magic after all."

With that, he signaled to the Aurors that they were leaving.

The Aurors suddenly grabbed him roughly by the arms and led him out of the room to the Dementors who were waiting at the end of the hall. Leaving behind a crying Hermione leaning on Ron for support, who looked like he himself might fall over from shock. Professor Dumbledore had a very solemn expression on his face as Harry was led out of view.

Suddenly Ginny came around the corner carrying a tray of food. Once she saw the scene in front of her she dropped the tray with a resounding clang of metal on stone and the sound of breaking china.

"What's going on? Where are you taking him?" she yelled looking wide-eyed. Suddenly she rushed forward and hugged Harry tightly.

"Get away from the prisoner you silly girl!" yelled one of the Aurors as he ripped her of him and threw her into the wall.

Something inside Harry snapped after seeing this because he turned around and punched the Auror that threw Ginny aside as hard as he could, knocking him to the floor instantly.

The other Aurors were on him in an instant, knocking him down then twisting his arms behind his back and putting him in hand cuffs.

He let out a cry of pain as his shoulder was being twisted behind his back. Looking up, he saw Ginny's tear stained face in the shadows looking down at him with concern while the Aurors kept him shoved into the floor.

"Dumbledore will be able to tell you everything that's going on. I want you to remember though that I love you and will always be there for you no matter what."

"I Love you to Harry" was all she had time to say as she gave him a weak smile before he was dragged away from her.

He was almost tempted to run after her, even going so far as to take a step in her direction but remembered about the Dementors and how if he did, Fudge would be able to say he was trying to escape and would order the kiss be performed immediately. He turned slowly only to come face to face with Fudge.

"Not trying to escape are we?" Fudge asked hopefully.

"No" he said through gritted teeth.

"Too bad, I was hoping to put the Dementors loose on you."

"Sorry to disappoint ya Fudge" he spat at him.

Fudge must have realized that he wasn't about to get any respect out of him because he became quite red in the face.

"Get him out of here and back to the Ministry now!" roared Fudge.

As the Dementors led him out of the castle, he saw two large black carriages flanking a smaller one with bars for windows.

'So this is how I'm going then' he thought to himself as he was roughly thrown into the middle carriage.

With a final sneer from Fudge, the door was slammed shut and they were off on their way to the Ministry.

After hours of just sitting there in the dark bouncing carriage, they finally came to a stop and the door was thrown open.

Seeing that it was dark out now, he was grabbed roughly by the arm and led through an entrance to the Ministry that he had never seen before. 'Must be special for prisoners' he thought to himself as he was dragged down corridor after corridor becoming lost in the maze of tunnels underneath London. They finally came to a doorway marked "Holding Cells" and was promptly taken in.

Once inside, he was knocked to the floor violently with a blow to the head.

Looking up and seeing spots, Fudge started in again.

"Your in my hands now boy. No Dumbledore to save you in here and I know just the cell for you." He said with a wicked looking grin on his face

Going down the hall he saw several people sneer at him through the bars while others seemed to be shocked to see the famous Harry Potter in handcuffs being led to a cell.

At the end of the hall he noticed a very large and beefy man in the cell on the left and an empty one right next to him.

'Oh no' he thought to himself, anywhere but there.

Turning around, the large man had a look of triumph cross his face and exclaimed

"They finally dragged your sorry butt in here huh boy? About time too, after you killed my son." He said with a look of loathing. "My only regret is not finishing what I started."

"You better leave me alone Uncle." He snapped back. "You can't hurt me anymore."

"We'll see" was his cryptic response.

Harry was then shoved roughly into the cell and told that dinner would be around in about an hour.

Sitting in the shadows, trying to keep warm in the freezing cell, he sang to himself sadly…

"Happy Birthday to me."

A/N Sorry about taking so long with this one, but I had a bad case of writers block for most of the week. The rest should go smoothly though.

Don't forget to review.


	4. Torture

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 4: Torture

Waking up, Harry couldn't figure out why he was sleeping on a slab of cold, hard rock.

'What's going on?'

All of a sudden, there was a creeping and rattling noise, like someone taking long, forced breaths. The temperature in the cell also got extremely cold all of a sudden and Harry could once again hear the pleading screams of his mother.

_"Not Harry, not Harry please not Harry! _

BANG!

Harry was suddenly startled out of his drowsiness and despair with the slamming of his cell door.

'Oh yeah' he thought bitterly, 'Fudge locked me up to try to get rid of me.'

"So Mr. Potter, your finally awake. Today you will learn what it's like to be an enemy to the wizarding world."

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I've never killed anyone."

"We'll see if that's still your answer after a few days _persuasion_." Fudge responded, putting a lot of emphasis on persuasion.

"You heard what Dumbledore said. I'm not to be mistreated, remember?" He challenged.

"What Dumbledore doesn't know, won't hurt me, now will it boy?"

All Harry could do was stare open mouthed at that statement. Could he actually get away with it? Would he really hurt him without Dumbledore knowing?

"How could you do this to me? Don't you know that I'm the only one that can stop Voldemort?"

Fudge shuddered visibly at the mention of his name.

"A pathetic little attention seeking brat like you, defeat the most powerful dark wizard in history? I think not. He snapped back after composing himself.

"Not again anyway." He added as an after thought.

"You don't understand… the prophecy."

"Surely Dumbledore would be a better choice than such a scrawny no good kid who defies the law whenever he sees fit. You _will_ pay for what you did to your cousin"

"But…"

"I should have expelled you and sent your sorry butt to Azkaban when you blew up your aunt three years ago. That would have saved us all a lot of grief."

That thought really struck him.

If he _had_ gone to Azkaban in his third year, then Sirius would probably have been freed of all charges because _he_ wouldn't have been there to save Pettigrew. Also in his forth year Voldemort wouldn't have been able to use _his_ blood to be reborn.

It was all his fault. He should have been taken to the Dementors. If he had then none of this would have happened. Cedric would still be alive. Sirius would still be around and Dudley wouldn't have been murdered.

After letting that sink in, Fudge stormed out and left the Dementors do their work, leaving Harry with the memories of the worst things that had ever happened to him.

First came his mom screaming again, only this time it was intensified due to three more Dementors coming into view. The next thought took him back to a familiar looking graveyard. He could see Cedric looking at him.

"Kill the spare." Came a cold voice and in a flash of green light, Cedric was dead.

Harry couldn't see what came next as he fell to the floor, banging his head on the side of the slab of rock that was his bed with a loud thud, unconscious from the Dementors' effects.

* * *

_Sometime later_

It doesn't matter anymore, nothing does.

That was the only thought that went through his mind anymore.

Since that fateful day when he had been accused of murdering Dudley he had been tortured beyond anything the Dursleys ever did to him. His torment wasn't quite Dursley free though.

Fudge certainly had no qualms about letting his Uncle Vernon ridicule and belittle him constantly. In fact, he encouraged it.

He had not seen Dumbledore, Remus or anybody for that matter since he had arrived. Fudge had told him that he wouldn't be receiving any visitors because due to the crimes he was accused of, visitors weren't permitted.

When he had woken up after that first day here, the first thing that Fudge had done to him was strip him down too his boxers and he had given him a thin, sleeveless, raggedy looking tunic and a pair of ripped shorts that stopped just above his knees. This left him constantly cold in the freezing dungeon where he was forced to sleep on a hard and cold stone slab.

Then there were the beatings that happened daily. It usually started just before lunchtime with a break for lunch, but was then picked up again. The guard, a fellow by the name of Eric, would come into his cell and grab him unceremoniously around the throat and throw him into the wall with such force that by the third day, all he could see was little purple spots clouding his vision.

He was also punched until he fell to the ground and then kicked until he coughed up blood. He couldn't even taste the food they brought him anymore due to the blood taste in his mouth.

The food, if it could be called that, consisted of nothing more than a very weak bean soup along with a cup of discolored water and a slice of hard, stale bread.

The worst times were when Fudge would let his Uncle into his cell. He said that he should have the opportunity to take some revenge for the murder of his son. That maybe he would drag a confession out of him. These were by far the worst of the beatings due to the sheer ferocity of them. While Eric only did it on orders, his Uncle did it out of revenge and anger.

He would first grab him in a chokehold with his hand and slam him into the wall with his feet dangling, banging his head into it for good measure. Just when he thought he would pass out, he would be dropped on the cold, hard floor. Then he would be lifted up by his already damaged shoulder and punched repeatedly in the stomach and chest by the other arm. After that was through, he was thrown hard against the bars of the cell, usually so that his shoulder hit the bars and kicked until he passed out from shock.

For the first few days he would try as long as he cold to stay away from his Uncle but due to malnourishment and neglect and the fact that the cell was only six by six feet wide, there was no way to stay away from him for long.

This only seemed to intensify his Uncles rage though and by the fifth day he didn't even bother to put up resistance due to it being futile because in the end, he would always end up being caught and beaten.

That wasn't the extent of his punishment though, his greatest fear in the world, the Dementors, were almost always coming around at different times of the day making him relive different parts of his past, each more terrible then the last. Usually there would only be one Dementor placed outside his cell but whenever there was more than that, he would always pass out due to their effects and not wake up till what he assumed was the next morning, where the cycle would be repeated.

This was part of the reason why he was becoming so malnourished; he would usually miss breakfast from being passed out and then usually miss dinner also from the same reason. Not that the dinners were anything to write home about.

Probably the most depressing thing about being here in this dungeon was that he didn't even have a window to look out and stare at the clouds with or to look out at the moon.

Even Sirius, a convicted murderer of thirteen muggles was given a cell with a window while he was in Azkaban. Why was this injustice being put on him?

The only thing he could ever be accused of was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For some reason he couldn't fathom, it seemed to happen to him quite a lot.

It was because of this that he could never be quite sure what time of the day it was. All he could do was guess what time it was and use the cycle of beatings. He wasn't even sure how long he had been kept in this hell due to the bizarre schedule. All he knew was that if he didn't get out soon, he would surely die in here because he wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

Waking up one day he could barely open his eyes remembering all too well the hell he had been through last night. Closing his eyes made it even clearer in his mind's eye.

_Eric was standing in front of him smoking on a cigarette._

_He had asked if he would mind smoking the thing someplace else but he just smirked and came into the cell. Somehow he knew he wasn't about to like this one bit and he was right. _

_Eric backhanded him hard into the wall where he crumpled into a heap. He then walked over, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and touching the burning end to his arm._

_The pain was unreal. He had yelled out but was only rewarded with it being put on his arm again and again repeatedly. After doing his arms he started working on his chest till lunch was served. After lunch, the Dementors came and occupied his thoughts until he could no longer remember._

Sitting up and brushing away the memory, he looked into the smiling face of Cornelius Fudge. This was a rare occasion indeed as he hadn't seem him more than a couple of times since he arrived and never this happy.

"What a glorious day it is." He said smiling broadly.

"You wouldn't know it from in here, would you." He spat back.

He didn't really want to put up with Fudge's happiness on top of today's torture. It was almost torture enough to just be in his presence.

For some reason the smile never seemed to leave Fudge's face like it usually did when he talked back to him.

"Today we're taking a little trip." He answered, still smirking as he pulled out a rusty looking key and unlocked the cell.

Not waiting for an answer, he turned and started down the hall.

'What hell could he be dreaming up now' Harry thought wearily to himself.

Getting up slowly and minding the almost constant pain in his left shoulder from all the beatings he had received; he inched his way out of the cell and started after Fudge. Looking to his right he noticed that his Uncle was no longer in his cell and was nowhere in sight. Wondering what had become of him he continued following Fudge to the end of the hall and to the door that lead into the hall that brought him to the Ministry.

"Now, now, we can't have you walking anywhere unescorted now can we." Fudge said with a glint in his eye. With that he clapped his hands together and two Dementors came out of nowhere and grabbed his arms.

Before they could take him away, he had one question he wanted answered.

"Minister" he started. Putting as much respect as he could into his voice. "Could you please answer just one question?"

"Very well, what is it Potter?" He said sounding very bored all of a sudden.

"I was wondering how long I've been here?"

At this, a nasty glint came into his eye and a small smirk started at the corners of his mouth.

"Why my dear boy, you've been here for 14 days."

Two weeks!?!

It wasn't possible.

There was no way he had rotted in this hellhole for two weeks.

Fudge must have seen the shock on his face because he spoke again.

"Yes, it's true Potter, you have been here that long. And I've enjoyed every minute of it."

How could somebody be so cruel? It was inhuman to think that a human being could take such pleasure from another's suffering.

Seeing the smirking face of Cornelius Fudge mocking him was not something he could tolerate. In that moment, something inside Harry just snapped because in an instant he had his hands around Fudge's thick throat choking him for all he was worth.

With a terrified look on his face, Fudge suddenly reached up and sucker punched him in the stomach knocking the wind out of him.

As he fell to the floor holding his stomach tenderly and gasping in pain, Fudge looked down in disgust.

"Get this piece of filth out of my sight," he gasped as the Dementors reached down for him.

"Your as bad as Voldemort you know that." He whispered.

Seeing Fudge visibly tremble was enough for Harry to feel some elation but not much.

Yanking him up roughly by the shoulders, the Dementors lead him down the hall and up a couple flights of stairs. They finally stopped out in front of a plain blue painted door as he was about to pass out from being led around by his already damaged shoulder.

Upon opening the blue door he saw that it was a bare room except for a long frame hanging on the wall, a wood bench and a small stool with a single piece of parchment laid on it.

The Dementors roughly shoved him into the room and locked the door behind them as they left, leaving him alone.

He couldn't believe it, he had rotted in here for two weeks. Two weeks of his life were gone, wasted away like he had in here.

Gingerly he moved over to the stool with the parchment and started reading.

_You will stay here until it is time for you. You won't be harmed. Have a pleasant stay._

This had to be a joke he thought to himself as he slowly made his way over to the frame on the wall, almost afraid of what he was going to see.

Standing in front of him was someone who looked haunted. The face was starting to look hollowed and wasn't helped any by how thin he was. He was almost skeletal. His hair was also straggly and unkempt. The worst part was the eyes. They were heavily lidded and were a very dull, almost steel color, as if there was no life left in them. He was also extremely dirty, like he hadn't showered in a very long time.

He was looking at himself in a mirror.

"My god" he said softly.

Looking closer he could see many bruises but they were hard to make out since there were so many. His hair was matted in many places and he was still wearing that disgusting tunic that he had received on his first day in captivity. He couldn't help but think that he looked worse than what Sirius had looked like and he had been in Azkaban for twelve years.

Just then, the door was flung open and the two Dementors were back along with a gruff looking Auror who was carrying two pairs of shackles.

"What's going on?" he asked the Auror, not sure if he would get an answer.

"Shut up and don't ask questions!" was his only response.

When the shackles were finished being put on, he was lead out of the room buy the two Dementors further down the hall to a door that Harry had seen before. He had had to go through it last summer when his hearing was held.

'The trial is going to happen now?' he thought quickly.

'There's no way that I'm ready. I'm nowhere near presentable. But that's what Fudge wants' he thought darkly. He wants to put out an image of me as a dirty, delinquent troublemaker. That way he'll get public opinion on his side.

These were his last thoughts as the doors were flung open and he was led inside to meet his fate.

A/N I'm so sorry for not updating sooner but I've had so many things going on that I haven't had as much time to put as much effort into it that I would like and I didn't want to put out a half cocked chapter. Thanks for your patience.

Also, I can't believe I didn't catch it sooner but I never said what happened to the Death Eaters that attacked Harry. I've since reposted chapter 2 having Dumbledore explain to Harry that they had all gotten away except for MacNair. Originally this and the next chapter were going one but as I got writing, it turned out that it was much longer than I had thought it would be. Don't worry though; the next chapter is practically done. It just needs to be tweaked a little and will be out by the end of the week.

Oh and please, don't forget to review.


	5. The Trial

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 5: The Trial

As the doors were flung open, Harry could see hundreds of wizards and witches all looking at him. He looked straight ahead as he couldn't bear to look into their accusing gaze. He quickly wished he hadn't though because there in front of him was the chained chair that was going to tie him up, just like he had seen in Dumbledore's pensive two years ago.

He was about to pass out from the Dementors proximity to him when he finally reached the chair and was unceremoniously thrown into it.

As soon as he was put in the chair the chains glowed gold suddenly and snaked their way up and over his arms, binding him solidly in place.

"Bloody hell Harry!" he heard Ron exclaim loudly.

Looking up once more, he could see all of his friends in the front row; Remus looking terrified, Hermione sitting with tears coming down her face and all of the Weasley's (especially Ron) with a shocked and saddened expression on their faces. Even Fred and George, who could make a joke at almost anything, were sitting with solemn expressions on their faces. Everyone was looking upset, all except for Ginny, who strangely had a look of bewilderment on her face.

Looking up and to his right, he also saw Dumbledore who as always had a look of polite curiosity on his face, sitting among the rest of the Wizengamot a few seats away from Fudge.

"The trial for one, Harry James Potter, resident of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, will now begin, this fifteenth of August." Said a voice to his right that he recognized as Fudge's.

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley."

"Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Remus John Lupin, Hermione Jane Granger, Ronald Bilius Weasley and Ginevra Molly Weasley. Fudge Finished with a sneer.

At the news that they would all be testifying for him his heart felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of it.

"Witness for the Prosecution, Vernon Dursley." Fudge then added with a smirk.

'I knew it was too good to last. He'll defiantly have nothing good to say about me.' Thought Harry as an Auror was bringing his Uncle to sit in an empty chair on the other side of the room that also had gold chains that were keeping him in place.

"The charges against Mr. Potter are as follows: That he did, knowingly and deliberately kill his cousin in cold blood with the Adava Kedavra curse which if used on another human being, constitutes a lifetime sentence in Azkaban prison under paragraph D of the Decree for using unforgivable curses, 1747."

"Harry James Potter, you have been brought here to stand trial for the death of your cousin Dudley Dursley. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty." He said, hopping it didn't sound too shaky.

"Very well then" Fudge said looking very annoyed. "I would like to address Mr. Vernon Dursley at this moment.

Uncle Vernon suddenly looked up and appeared quite nervous to be inside a room with so many witch's and wizards.

"Yes?" he croaked out.

"I would like to ask how Harry behaves when he is at home?"

"Harry?" he asked looking quite flustered.

"Yes. Harry. Your nephew who lives with you." Growled Fudge.

"Oh right, him… well um… mostly he just stays in his err… room and keeps out of the way. That is unless he is doing his err…chores of course. Then he is usually um… doing them."

Vernon was defiantly out of his element and could hardly keep his train of thought straight. Things seemed to be looking up.

Seeing that his star witness wasn't all he was cracked up to be, Fudge decided to let him go.

"Very well, your witness Dumbledore."

Looking positively delighted, as if he had planned it all out himself, he declined the chance to question Uncle Vernon. Which only seemed to make Fudge even redder in the face.

Now the only testimony that Fudge had was of the muggles who claimed to have had seen him kill Dudley, however; all of their memories were wiped before the trial, leaving Fudge with no other witnesses present.

At this, Dumbledore rose from his seat and looked to where the Weasley's were sitting.

"Mr. Ronald Weasley, please stand up."

Ron did as requested and looked like he was doing better since Uncle Vernon had spoken but still looked quite nervous.

"How long have you known Mr. Potter and what is your relationship to him?"

Glancing in Harry's direction quickly, he seemed to get a surge of strength and started his testimony.

"I've known him ever since our first year at Hogwarts and he is my best friend. We've been through many adventures together and I would trust him with my life."

Looking happy with the response, Dumbledore continued.

"Have you ever known Mr. Potter to be a danger to anyone?"

"No sir."

"Has Mr. Potter ever, as long as you've known him, try to bring attention to himself in any way like Minister Fudge has stated in the past?"

No sir. In fact, he is probably one of the most private people I know and I've been proud to be his friend."

"Thank you Mr. Weasley, that's all. Your witness Minister"

Fudge appeared to be thinking of how to proceed, knowing that he could never get his best friend to go against him. Finally he spoke, looking quite unhappy.

"No questions at this time."

Appearing quite relieved to have his turn over, he plopped back down in his seat with a sigh.

Dumbledore didn't waste any time in selecting the next speaker.

"Next, I would like to have Miss Granger give testimony."

She looked slightly less nervous then Ron had but she looked a little green in the face, like she was going to be sick at any moment.

Would you care to explain your relationship to Mr. Potter?"

"I've known him since our first year together and have been friends ever since. I have never in my life seen him ever go out of his way to hurt anybody."

"Thank you Miss Granger."

When Hermione sat down, Harry chanced a look in Fudge's direction and even in all his years with the Dursleys, could never remember someone's face as red as Fudge's was now. He even had a vein slightly protruding out right next to his temple.

"Next, I would like Remus Lupin to speak." Said Dumbledore suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Have you ever seen Harry say anything that would suggest that he was capable of killing his relatives?"

"No. He has always regarded his relatives with a certain distance but has never said anything to suggest that he would kill them. But even if he had, I wouldn't blame him with the way that they've treated him all his life."

"Thank you Mr. Lupin." Said Dumbledore. "The next person to testify will be miss Ginerva Weasley."

Out of all the people that had testified so far, she was the only one that didn't look nervous. In fact, she looked almost too calm. It was almost what Dudley looked like the last time he had seen him.

"Miss Weasley, would you tell the Wizengamot what your relationship to Harry is and what kind of person he is?"

"Of course." She said with a coolness that was quite unnerving.

"I've known him since before the start of my first year at Hogwarts and ever since I've known him, from what I could tell, he has always been quite unbalanced."

Hearing this, he whipped his head in her direction so fast his neck cracked. As he did that there was a large collective gasp in the courtroom at her answer mostly from the Weasleys. What was she saying? Wasn't she the one who had been so worried about him that she wouldn't leave his side?

"In fact" she continued, "he has always had quite a mean streak inside of him. Just ask Draco Malfoy about all the times that he's come out worse in fights with Potter."

"With Potter." Those words hurt more than all the other stuff combined. How could she be so cruel? Where was all of this coming from? He had never been anything but nice to her.

Due to his own disbelief, he barely even noticed Ron's mouth hanging open in shock along with the rest of the Weasleys. Hermione had even been taken aback by her words as her lower lip was trembling slightly and she wore a look of disbelief on her face.

Looking over to Fudge he saw someone who looked like Christmas had come early. Percy even had a smug look on his face, as he clearly wasn't expecting his sister to come to their cause and go against him.

Dumbledore, sensing that it was time to wrap things up, dismissed Ginny and started back toward the Wizengamot benches.

Fudge then stood up with a triumphant looking face.

"Now miss Weasley, has the defendant ever threatened anyone?"

Looking calm as ever, she answered without hesitation. "Yes."

Fudge was now positavly jumping for joy at hearing this.

"Who was it he threatened?"

"He, along with Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks all were making threats to the Dursleys to make sure Harry was treated well over the summer break."

She couldn't have said anything more damning if she tried.

"Very well miss Weasley, that will be all." Fudge said latterly shaking with glee over this latest turn of events.

It didn't look good for the boy who lived, because the Wizengamot was talking among themselves and giving accusing looks in Harry's direction. Seeing this, Fudge kept going.

"If there is nothing else, than we will have to put it to the Wizengamot for a vote. All in favor of sentencing Harry Potter to a lifetime in Azakaban…"

He never finished his sentence because suddenly Dumbledore stood up and walked out in front of the Wizengamot. Quietly he started to address the court.

"There is one more person with whom I would like to question through the use of Veritaserum so that there will be no doubt, Walden MacNair.

Quite suddenly there was an uproar from Fudge.

"Walden MacNair, is currently hiding among the Death Eaters since his breakout of Azkaban over a month ago."

"That is not entirely true Minister." Dumbledore started.

"On the day of Dudley Dursley's death, he was found at the scene of the crime and has been at Hogwarts ever since."

"Sevreus, Minerva, please bring him in."

The doors to the courtroom burst open and there stood MacNair flanked by both Sevreus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. He was bound at the wrists with a pair of shackles but looked well taken care of.

"This is completely improper Dumbledore. I wont stand for it."

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but it is completely legal. If you like, sometime after the trial we might have a chance to sit down and review wizarding law." Dumbledore said with a small smile on his lips.

Fuming red once again, Fudge reluctantly took his seat once more.

Since they needed another chair for McNair Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and gave it a little flick like she had done last year in Dumbledore's office and transfigured a hard looking, straight-backed chair out of thin air.

"Now Sevreus, please administer the Veritaserum and we will finish up this little get together."

Snape bent over the man who was trying to get away but was being held by some invisible force. After administering the clear liquid Snape backed away, but not before shooting an extremely nasty look in Harry's direction.

'Good thing Fudge didn't ask Snape about me. He sure would have given him the goods.' He thought to himself.

After MacNair's face went slack and his gaze became unfocused, Dumbledore started his questioning.

"Can you hear me?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." He softly answered.

"If you would be so kind, could you tell us about what happened on the date of July 20th?"

"I was summoned by the Dark Lord, along with Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. We were ordered to go and find Harry Potter's cousin and put him under the Imperius curse. Lucius was the one to put the curse on the boy and I ordered him to go fetch Harry Potter so that we could kill him away from all the protections of his Aunts house."

"I see. Who was the one to put the killing curse on Dudley Dursley?"

"Lucius ordered it and Bellatrix carried it out."

"And what of the muggles that claimed to have seen Harry do it?"

"I put the Imperius curse on them to make them think they had seen Potter perform the curse."

"So Harry is completely innocent of the crimes that he is accused of?"

"Yes."

Turning to face Fudge, Dumbledore spoke again.

"I believe that that clears everything up."

Fudge looked as if he might shoot fire out of his nose at any second.

"I don't see where this proves anything. It is possible for a really powerful wizard to overcome Veritaserum. Lest we forget about Snape's past, wasn't he a Death Eater at one time? Should we truly believe that he is capable of producing Veritaserum?"

"As I have said to this court before, Sevreus Snape was once a Death Eater but changed sides at great risk to himself. He is also a noted Potions Master and is quite capable of brewing Veritaserum. But if you are so eager to test this lets put the matter at hand to vote."

"All in favor of clearing the accused?" Dumbledore said loudly making his voice rumble off the walls.

Looking up Harry saw that a good majority of the Wizengamot raised their hands, about three quarters in all.

"And against?" Dumbledore boomed again.

Only a scattered few raised their hands, with some doing it reluctantly while shooting glances in Fudge's direction.

Fudge looked livid.

"I can't believe you people. This boy is guilty." Shrieked Fudge."

All at once, as soon as the innocent verdict came down, the chains that were holding Harry in the seat suddenly went slack and fell to his side.

"Well if you won't do what has to be done then I'll do it myself." Yelled Fudge as he pointed to the two Dementors at the door and ordered them to perform the kiss on Harry.

They were on him in an instant, tipping his head back and lowering their hoods revealing they're rotted looking faces.

The one nearest him was just about to clamp its mouth on his when he heard someone bellow "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The two Dementors were suddenly pushed away by what looked like to Harry as a flock of bumblebees. Leaning over, he could see Dumbledore standing a few feet away using his wand to keep the Dementors at bay.

Fudge looked as if he might explode any second as Dumbledore was chasing away his Dementors.

All of a sudden, Fudge unexpectedly jumped in between him and Dumbledore and simultaneously raised his wand at Harry.

"This ends now Potter. You will pay for killing your cousin and ruining my name." He spat at him as he said two words that Harry thought he would never come out of the Minister of Magic's mouth.

"AVEDRA KEDRAVA!"

A jet of green light exploded out of Fudge's wand and went hurtling toward Harry.

He didn't have time to even register it. He only knew that in the next moment he would be dead. He almost welcomed it fact. It was obvious that Ginny didn't love him as he thought she did. It was also his fault that so many had already died, his parents, Cedric, Sirius and finally Dudley. Yes, he did welcome death, because there was nothing but suffering in his life and he wanted it to end. He had been punished since a cold day in October of 1981, and he had had enough.

These were all thoughts that ran through his head while the beam of green light blazed it's way to him.

Suddenly, just before it struck him dead a chair flew out of nowhere and slammed into the beam exploding into splinters as the curse connected with it knocking him painfully to the floor.

Momentarily dazed, he wasn't quite sure where he was. Was he dead? Was this what death felt like? He sincerely hopped not because he was sure in a lot of pain at the moment. This train of thought continued until a familiar face stepped in front of him.

"Remus?" He asked with barely a whisper.

Grinning like it he had just opened a present on his birthday, Remus called out loudly.

"It's ok everyone, he's just taken a nasty fall."

Looking around to his right, he saw Dumbledore conversing with Madame Bones, but giving a small smile in his direction at Remus's news. Meanwhile, two Aurors were walking Fudge out of the courtroom in shackles. Looking to his left, he saw Ron gaping at him as if he'd seen a ghost with Hermione leaning on his shoulder wiping away tears from her face.

Ginny on the other hand looked utterly bewildered, like she didn't even know where she was. Not that he cared of course, especially after what she had said about him.

Professor McGonagall came forward suddenly holding an old spinach can.

"Here Potter, take this. It's a Portkey that will take you back to Hogwarts so that Madame Pomfrey can get you looked at properly."

"Thanks" was all he could muster as he took hold of the can and felt the familiar tug behind his naval and was whisked away from the courtroom.

He landed with a thud into a crumpled heap, because his legs had given out from lack of nourishment.

Slowly looking around to his right, he could make out the familiar looking white beds of the Hogwarts Hospital wing gleaming in the sunlight that was pouring into the room.

He also saw a very peculiar sight because Madame Pomfrey was looking past him with a look of terror on her face.

Dreading what he thought he must look like to her, he turned his gaze away and received the shock of his life.

A/N I'd like to take the time now to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story, it truly means a lot to me.

All the middle names are from different Q&A sessions between J. K. Rowling and fans that I've read so they should be accurate. As for Vernon, Dudley and MacNair, I didn't want to write this and have it contradicted later on in either book 6 or 7 so I just left them without middle names.

Also, sorry about the wait for this because I know you've been dieing to find out what happens to poor Harry.

And please don't forget that I love your suggestions and comments.


	6. Tragedy At Home

Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

The Summer After Sirius

Chapter 6: Tragedy At Home

Landing with a thud, Harry slumped into a crumpled heap because his legs had given out from lack of nourishment.

Slowly looking around, he could make out the familiar looking white beds of the Hogwarts Hospital wing gleaming in the sunlight that was pouring into the room.

He also saw a very peculiar sight because Madame Pomfrey was looking past him with a look of terror on her face.

Dreading what he thought he must look like to her, he turned his gaze away from her and received the shock of his life.

There stood before him someone he had not seen in over a year. He recognized him immediately due the gleaming piece of silver where his right hand should have been. He was looking into the rat-like face of Peter Pettigrew.

"Welcome Harry, I knew that Dumbledore would send you back as soon as the trial was over. Lucky for me your all alone."

He was just about to argue that he wasn't alone when Wormtail suddenly called out "Stupefy!" and stunned Madame Pomfrey.

Feeling quite defeated now, he knew there was nothing he would be able to do, his wand had been confiscated and hadn't been returned yet. He was completely at the mercy of his parents' traitor.

He was just about to give up when one word crept into his head, stall. 'If I stall him long enough then Dumbledore is bound to come by eventually.'

"What are you doing here? I would have thought that you'd be snake food by now with the way you are always messing up your masters orders." He casually asked as if he always found himself in the company of murderers and traitors. Which for some reason happened quite a lot.

"I've been ordered by the Dark Lord to present you to him in anyway possible, and as I said before, I knew Dumbledore would send you back as soon as the trial was over. He really is too predictable sometimes. Now young Potter, It's time to go."

Realizing that he wasn't planning on sticking around he started thinking quick, he tried to come up with a plan to get himself out of this mess on his own but came up empty handed. Realizing that there was nothing he could do to stop him, he was about to just give up and accept his fate when suddenly there was a rushing sound and Ron and Hermione landed right between him and Wormtail.

"I really don't like traveling like that." He heard Hermione say at once, not noticing that they were in danger.

Looking around Ron caught sight of Harry and started to say something but was drowned out by Wormtail.

"Expelliarmus!"

Ron and Hermione's wands suddenly flew out of their pockets and they flew to the other side of the room, with Ron making an extremely loud thud when his head hit the wall.

Getting up gingerly, Hermione started checking Ron.

"It's ok he's only knocked out, I think he'll be alright." She said quietly.

"Good. We don't want one of the master's prizes damaged." Wormtail said with obvious glee because now he was going to get all three of them.

"Now you girl, go stand over there with Harry and wait while I acquire us a Portkey."

Doing as instructed she slowly made her way over toward Harry.

Glancing in his direction, she must have seen the look of defeat on Harry's face because after looking at him she suddenly looked fearful.

Their attention was turned when Wormtial ripped off one of his shoes and muttered "Portus."

"Now I want you two to move over there next to your friend and hold your hands out, otherwise I'll kill you where you stand."

Doing as instructed they made their way over to the corner he had pointed to.

"What do we do now?" asked Hermione frantically in a whisper.

With a sigh, Harry answered back. "I just don't know."

As Wormtail made his way over to where they stood, the doors to the Hospital wing opened and they couldn't believe their luck; Remus Lupin had just walked in the door.

Pettigrew must not have heard because he continued toward them with a grin of triumphant accomplishment on his face.

Seeing what was transpiring, Remus made his way over to a spot directly behind Pettigrew and pulled out his wand and raised it up, aiming at his back.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled out.

With a look of shock, Wormtail went sailing across the room with his wand flying into Remus' outstretched hand.

"Looks like I finally caught you Peter. You won't get away like last time." Remus spoke quickly with a hungry look in his eye. "Sirius's name will finally be cleared."

Looking around the room quickly, Wormtail seemed to be trapped until a small smirk spread across his face.

"I'm a lot trickier than you think" Wormtail stated and then suddenly where there was once a man crunched up on the floor, there was a rat scurrying swiftly underneath a bed.

'I've got to do something to help him' Harry thought to himself as Wormtail was getting away. He started to get up when Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"You stay here. I'll take care of it." She said simply.

Standing up, she made her way over behind Remus to the door and shut it up before Pettigrew could get away.

"Good thinking Hermione" Remus said, turning his attention to her.

It was a grave mistake because at that moment Wormtail ran from underneath his hiding place and right toward Remus with his silver paw glistening in the sunlight pouring through the windows. It all happened so fast that Harry didn't even have time to register it before he was right behind Remus.

Changing back into a human right behind Remus he reached out with his silver right hand and grabbed him by the throat.

Harry had never heard anybody scream like that in his life. It was the cry of a dying man.

Even from across the room Harry could see smoke rising up where the silver was burning into Remus's flesh.

Doing the only thing he could do, he moved as fast as his feet would allow him to go. He picked up Remus's wand where he had dropped it and pointed it at Wormtail just as he dropped Remus to the ground.

"Wa… Wait Ha… Ha… Harry, we can talk about this." He said realizing that he was in an extremely bad situation.

"You betrayed my parents. You put Sirius into Azkaban for twelve years. I should have listened to Sirius and Remus when they wanted to kill you."

Wormtail was defiantly shaking with fear now.

"I'm not going make that mistake again. You're going to suffer for making Sirius suffer for all those years. Your going to suffer for killing my parents and your defiantly going to suffer for what you just did to Remus!"

With that, he pointed the wand at him and yelled out "Crucio!"

A bolt of light erupted out of his wand and went straight toward Wormtail.

Wormtail's eyes grew wide in shock and anger because he wouldn't be taking the master his prize. Then just before the beam hit a small smile lit up across his face and he changed back into a rat.

The bolt went right through where Wormtail had been standing mere moments before and went sailing right into Hermione who was still standing behind him at the door.

He saw her look at him with a shocked expression just before the beam hit. Then in a flash of light, Hermione was laying on the ground with a look of agony on her face while the room was enveloped in a shriek of excruciating pain.

"No!"

Dropping his wand, he simultaneously fell to his knees. He couldn't believe what he had done. Not only had he used an unforgivable curse on another human being, but it was on one of his best friends.

"See young Harry, no matter what you do, all you will ever feel is pain. As long as you're alive, that's the only thing that your friends are ever going to feel. Because of you, they will never safe." Wormtail taunted as he changed back into a human and slipped on his shoe, only to disappear in a flash.

Harry was only paying half attention to him because he was too preoccupied with Hermione.

"What have I done." He said to himself as he gazed at her lying on the floor unconscious.

Just then the doors to the Hospital wing burst open and in strode Dumbledore.

Taking one look around the room he seemed to gather all the information that he needed because he quickly picked up Hermione and set her in a bed. He then whispered "ennervate" and woke up Madame Pomfrey. Together, they moved Remus onto a bed where she started getting to help him.

Harry registered all this but wasn't processing any of it. Not even when Dumbledore turned his attention to him.

"Are you alright Harry?" He asked gently.

But Harry couldn't answer. He was too far in thought to even hear what was being said to him.

"I could have killed her," he said to himself.

"Killed who Harry?"

"I could have killed her." He repeated.

Turning his head in Dumbledore's direction he finally realized that the Headmaster was there.

"Hermione. I could have killed Hermione." He said as he explained the details of everything that had transpired since the headmasters' arrival.

"I put an unforgivablele curse on Hermione."

Moving from his knees into a sitting position, he started thinking about what would happen to him.

'I'll really go to Azkaban now. I've committed an unforgivable curse on another person' He thought.

"Harry I don't want you to worry about this. While you really shouldn't have tried to curse Peter like that I can understand why you wanted to. He tried to kill the last link to your parents, someone who ironically, also happened to be one his best friends many years ago. But as always, I must ask you to use logic and reasoning before acting on you're emotions."

Gazing up at his Headmaster, he nodded once and started to get up and make his way over to a bed to lie down.

Turning to leave, Dumbledore started for the door but then stopped mid-stride.

"Oh, before I forget, miss Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom are going to be staying here the night and then will go with you three to Grimmald place in a couple of days. Where Miss Weasley is currently staying."

He must have had a look of puzzlement on his face because the Headmaster added, "Their parents have recently joined the Order and we are keeping them there to make sure that they are kept safe. They will be staying in the Gryffindor dormitory until then."

"What about Ginny? Where is she staying?" He asked.

"Miss Weasley is currently at Grimmald place with her parents. After what she said at the Trial I didn't think that you would be comfortable around her just yet."

Giving a nod to show that he understood, he laid back down on the bed. Thinking about the events of today.

After Dumbledore had gone, Harry turned and could see the familiar shape of Madame Pomfrey hurriedly making her way over to him.

"Up now!" she snapped at him.

Jerking up as fast as he could, he marveled how she could be so caring but still command such an authority as well.

"Unbelievable the things you get yourself into… worse than your father" he could hear her muttering under her breath as she fussed over him. "If I ever get my hands on that Cornelius Fudge he will wish he had never been born."

Stifling back a laugh, he continued to just sit there until she deemed him worthy of leaving.

After several minutes and several trips back into her office to bring out more and more potions that she made him choke down, he was finished.

He started getting up but she pushed him back down.

"Now just where do you think you're going?"

Confused, as to why she wouldn't let him up he answered, "I'm going up to Gryffindor tower to go see my friends."

Her lips went into an extremely thin line in a perfect imitation of McGonagall.

"I don't think so Mr. Potter, you've had yourself quite an ordeal and are severely malnourished. If it were up to me then you wouldn't be out of bed for a week, but as it isn't term yet we can't have students here. So you'll only be there for a couple of days."

Seeing that he wasn't going to win this argument he stopped resisting and laid back down on the bed, but there was still something he needed to know.

"I have one question though Madame Pomfrey."

Looking exasperated, she turned to face him once more. "Yes what is it?"

"I wanted to ask how Remus, Hermione and Ron were all doing."

Seeing that it wasn't about wanting to get out of here, she brightened up a little.

"Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are going to be fine. He only had a bump on his head whereas she seems to be doing pretty well considering what she went through. Remus on the other hand received a very nasty burn and is suffering from shock but should make it with the potions I've given him. Now if there are no more questions, I will be expecting you to be getting some rest."

With that she turned and went over to check on Remus again.

Seeing that he wouldn't be getting out of here until a couple of days he started thinking about what Wormtail had said. 'As long as I'm alive, they will suffer.' He kept repeating to himself.

For some reason, no matter what he did, his friends were always put into danger because of him. Ron was hurt in their first year by an overgrown chess piece because _he_ had to go and save the Sorcerer's stone which in the end, wouldn't have needed saving due to Dumbledore's protection.

Ginny was almost killed by the memory of Tom Riddle in his second year because Lucius Malfoy was trying to get at _him_.

In his third year, Ron was again hurt and Hermione was almost killed by Dementors when Wormtail had gotten away because _he_ hadn't let Sirius or Remus kill him.

At the end of forth year Cedric was killed because _he_ had insisted on taking a tie with him to get the cup.

And last year, Mr. Weasley was almost killed by a snake and then Sirius was killed because _he_ had gone to the Ministry. Not to mention everyone else who was hurt in that little adventure.

Then just this summer, Dudley was killed in the latest attempt on _his_ life.

Everything was his fault. His friends were always put in danger because he constantly thought that he needed to be involved in everything.

"It seems I was made to suffer, it's my lot in life." He said quietly to himself, remembering a line from an old movie he saw on television once.

A creaking noise woke him out of his musings as the doors to the Hospital wing were pushed open and in came Neville and Luna.

The first thing he noticed about Neville was that he must have had a growth spurt over the summer, because he was a lot taller that he remembered him being.

There wasn't really any difference in Luna though, she still wore her Butterbeer bottle cap necklace and had her wand tucked safely behind her ear. She also still looked like she lived in her own little world, apart from everyone else.

"Professor Dumbledore told us everything Harry, were really sorry about what happened to your cousin and how you were treated by Fudge." Neville said as Luna looked around the room as if she were in a daze.

"Thanks Neville, Luna, I'm just glad that you're both alright I don't know what I'd do if some…"

"JUST WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING IN HERE!" yelled Madame Pomfrey, as she was moving over toward the three of them. "I've already told the Headmaster that there is not to be anyone disturbing my patients right now and that includes you two. Now get out!"

A look of terror crossed Neville's face and he took off like a shot for the door whereas Luna, without dawdling, made her way to the door but at a much more controlled pace.

Turning around at the door, Luna looked at Harry.

"Hope you get well soon Harry" she said in her dreamy voice. With that she turned on her heal and walked out.

"Nosy kids. Just how are my patients supposed to get any rest with all their interruptions?" He heard Madame Pomfrey mutter as she went back into her office.

With a sigh, he moved to get comfortable on the bed once more and found himself staring at the window.

Looking out through the window he could see the last remnants of the sun just barely peaking over the horizon as the world was being enveloped by the night.

Why is life so unfair he wondered to himself. The only constant in my life so far has been death. Maybe everyone would be better off without me.

This was the last thing he thought of as he drifted off to sleep.

A/N I'm so, so, so sorry for keeping you waiting for this chapter for so long. I've got plenty of excuses but none sound very convincing so I won't mention them. Thanks for hanging in there though. The next chapter defiantly will be out a lot sooner than this one was.

I also want to thank ginnygal189 for correcting me on Ginny's true name being Ginevra instead of Virginia.

And as always, your reviews are most welcome.


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